Infinite Discs Blog

This post on pro tips to help you improve your disc golf forehand, is the fifth post in a series designed to help you elevate your game. Watch the videos and reinforce the concepts through reading. Watch, read, practice, and improve!

What if I asked you, “Would you give just over 8 minutes of your time to significantly improve your disc golf forehand?”

Would you do it?

Can I answer for you?

Of course you would!

And that’s exactly what we are talking about today. 

Nate Sexton, one of the best forehand players to ever play, gives a clinic on how he throws his forehand. 

Well, if he is throwing it that way, then perhaps we should as well. 

And if we’re being honest with ourselves, it is going to take more than 8 minutes, right?

We should pause, process, practice, replay, and repeat. A lot. 

But while we’re being honest, isn’t it completely, 100% worth it? 

I think so.

The alternative might be sending an errant forehand way off line to smack a tree and go careening off into the netherlands of the woods.

Or, watching yet another forehand “turn and burn” and cut roll embarrassingly close to the location you just launched it from?

Or executing any of the countless other issues that occur when we throw forehands?

Yes, this is definitely worth the investment of time.

Sexton has us covered, soup to nuts, from grip, to reach-back, to follow through, with countless other nuggets to mine (that’s what I’m here for) throughout. 

So let’s get going shall we?

Let’s take the time to watch one of the very best in the world teach us his craft, so that we can reap the rewards with consistent, effective, and, perhaps, deadly forehands, that will drop scores from our game and make us far more complete disc golfers!

This time, in this post, and unlike the previous posts in this series on accuracy, upshots, grip, and playing disc golf in bad weather, we’re going to watch first and review afterwards.

Let me know in the comments if you like it better this way or the other.

Key Sidearm (Forehand) Pointers!

Now that you’ve watched, let’s go over some of the key points starting with warming up!!

Always Warm Up Before Throwing Big Forehands!

One important thing that he mentioned in the middle is the importance of warming up before throwing big forehands!

You can do this by gradually increasing distances or playing catch (also from short distances). 

In general, Sexton mentions, the forehand can be more taxing on your arm/body so warming your arm up is of the utmost importance!

You don’t want to injure it and be unable to use these newer techniques we’re learning today, so warm up!

Now let’s look at Sexton’s thoughts on the forehand grip!

Find A Sidearm Grip That Works For You!

The video starts right out by getting into the grip that Sexton uses.

He mentions, however, that while the disc he’s using (The Firebird) is the same size/dimensions as your Firebird, his hand is NOT the same size/dimensions as theirs (or yours or mine!).

All that means is: Just because he’s using that grip (and is one of the best in the world) it DOESN’T mean it’s the perfect grip for you (probably worth a try though!).

In the end, Sexton leaves us with 2 keys for forehand grip.

Sexton Forehand Grip Key #1 – Have 2 fingers be on the rim.

Sexton Forehand Grip Key #2 – Leave NO Space between the disc and your hand (at the base of your thumb and pointer finger. (This provides more consistency and less wobble.)).

Once you do that, it’s up to you to find a method that’s comfortable for you.

“Comfort above all else,” Sexton reminds us.

Then, at about the 1:30 mark, Sexton moves to footwork.

Use Proper Footwork To Maximize Your Forehand!

Nate begins by telling us, with a cheeky grin, that he uses “The World Famous Sexton Hop” for his footwork. 

Here’s the “Sexton Hop” Sequence for RHFH (opposite for LHFH):

1. Left Foot Step
2. Right Foot Step
3. Right Foot Hop
4. Go (Step forward with Left Foot and Throw)

For anyone that plays baseball, he likens this footwork to what an outfielder does in baseball when throwing it back into the infield. 

In baseball, this would be called the “crow hop.”

The basic premise is that you, in his words, “turn your hips sideways to your target, temporarily, while you load the shot, and then you’ve got to snap your hips out of it, and then come through back to square to get big power.”

He goes on to point out that others use different footwork before moving on to the ever-important forehand reach back. 

Use Proper Forehand Reach-Back!

Sexton starts out the section on reach-back (at 2:45) by discussing the wrist action and contrasting it to the backhand. 

“The backhand is thrown with a passive wrist. A locked wrist. The forehand is an active wrist throw.”

Another contrast he points out is the reach back. 

In the backhand you typically do a long, straight reach back.

Not so with the forehand. 

“The forehand reach back is NOT linear,” he tells us. 

The elbow is far from the body in the reach back with your elbow bent and the face of the disc looking at the back of your head (at about head height).

At 3:20 he addresses when you should be tucking your elbow into the body.

When you get into “the hit of the throw” pin the elbow to the side of your body (when throwing hyzer or flat) for as long as you can. But not for the reach back or follow through. 

“When I want to get into the hit of the throw, I am going to pin the elbow to the side…Bring it in close, snap the hips, snap the wrist forward through, and then on the follow through again, obviously the elbow is coming off…“

Then, at about 3:55, Sexton gets right into controlling angle on the forehand shots.

How to Control Angles with the Forehand Throw!

To work on controlling angles, Sexton points out 3 levers you can use to do so with the forehand shot. Wrist, elbow and hip. 

He then translates for us and tells us how he uses these levers for hyzer and anhyzer shots. 

For the wrist, he shows us how the wrist lever can set the disc on a hyzer (with the wrist pointing downward), flat, or anhyzer (wrist flexed up).

With the elbow, we see that you can use it to throw hyzer (disc swings below elbow) or anhyzer (elbow off the body and disc above the elbow joint).

And finally, he points out you can drop the inside hip to add more hyzer to your shot as well (You probably don’t want to do the opposite for the forehand anhyzer he shows).

Understanding these three levers, and practicing them a lot, will help you master your angle controls on any given forehand shot. 

At this point, he is asked a question about warming up to prevent pain (which we covered partly at the beginning when we talked about warming up slowly and gradually.)

But he also made sure to stress the importance of using the snap of the wrist so you are not cranking your arm and so you can “work smarter not harder.”

Next, at about the 5:25 mark, we get into disc selection for learning proper forehand technique.

Choosing the Right Disc for Forehand Shots

One key to making good throws, is selecting the best discs for forehand throws.

Sexton is a big proponent for learning to throw forehand by using understable discs because it “let’s you control angles.”

He continues.

“You gotta be able to work some angles with the flippy stuff, and you’ll be thankful for it when you get on a really tight woods course, or you have a tailwind, and you need to generate power across some different, more subtle lines, that aren’t just a wide open field hyzer.”

Preventing the “Turn and Burn” Forehand

At the end of the video, Sexton is asked if he has “any last tips for beginner sidearm?”

The first thing that comes to mind for him is wrist snap.

“Just to reiterate, the wrist speed is so important.”

Then, he goes onto a point regarding the wrist action that he didn’t necessarily touch upon earlier.

“The main thing that people do wrong is roll the wrist [too early] through as if they were throwing a football… [with the] fingers pointing down in the follow through…”

“With a forehand hyzer…you need to keep the palm up for as long as possible…very late in the follow through, sure, your hand will roll over…”

Essentially though, Sexton tells us to keep that wrist up until that disc is a good ways out of our hands. 

This will ensure we’re not turning over to quickly and “turning and burning” those wobbly forehands.

His final bit of wisdom in this video is a healthy dose of logic. 

“The forehand you really need to learn,” he tells us, “is the hyzer because then you have consistent right moving, right skipping shots (for RHFH), and that’s what’s going to save you 3 strokes a round next month…”

Forehand Tips from Ricky Wysocki

Now we go from one legend to another. 

In the next video we see a young Ricky Wysocki (circa 2017).

In the video below, Ricky takes questions during a clinic and in it, he pretty much reaffirms so much of what we just went over in Nate Sexton’s video.

Ricky goes over the proper reach back that Sexton talked about.

He also talks about the grip (and leaving no space between the disc and the hand).

There’s the importance of the wrist snap (vs. “arming the disc”) for power and less wobble. 

He also discusses why we turn our forehands over (unknowingly rolling wrist or arm over before releasing the wrist).

Wysocki then talks about lining up his shot by lining up his feet.

Weight Shift While Throwing Forehands

At about 6:35, a gentleman mentions that his timing gets way out of sync if he does anything more than one step. He then proceeds to ask Wysocki about his run up for forehand.

It’s here that Ricky waxes a little about the importance of weight shift in forehand (but also backhand and sports in general). 

I recommend watching it, as it really hammers home the importance of timing as it pertains to this weight shift.

“You really just want to keep your weight back (on your back foot) until your arm’s coming through”

In a related question, another person asks him about whether or not we should be twisting at the hips. 

In essence, he tells us “no.”

If we are twisting at the hips we’re introducing so many new angles/directions that the disc could fly off on. 

Instead, he instructs, think of it more of a lateral, side to side, movement of the hips. 

Have the hips shifting towards the intended line you want to throw on.

Improve Forehand Through Trial and Error Practice

One final message that Ricky imparts throughout the video is the importance of trying these things out in order to improve your disc golf forehand. This applies for both distance throws and approach shots. 

He tells us what we already know, but it bears repeating. 

We’re going to get better at these techniques by trial and error, and by practicing and adjusting. 

Before long, he tells us, it’ll become second nature.

Give the video a look and have Sexton’s points reaffirmed and learn a few new ideas as well!

Improve Your Disc Golf Forehand – In Summary

There you have it! Those are some tips from some of the very best in the game on how to improve your disc golf forehand and get more distance.

To start, we watched Nate Sexton give a clinic of sorts on his best tips for the forehand.

Here’s what he gave us:

1. Always warm up!
2. Grip – Have two fingers on the rim and leave no space between the disc and your hand. In the end, find what’s comfortable for you!
3. Footwork – Try the Sexton Hop!
4. Reach Back –  Remember that it’s non-linear and comes up behind your head (see video).
5.  Elbow Tuck – For the hit of the throw, tuck your elbow into your side for throwing hyzer or flat.
6.  Angle Control – Use your wrist, elbow and hip to control angles.
7.  Wrist – Remember that forehand has an active wrist snap (instead of “arming” the disc).
8.  Palm Up – Keep your palm up until after you release (this will help you prevent “turn and burn”)
9.  Understable Practice – Practice forehands with flippy, understable discs. This will help you control your angles better.

Sexton gave us a lot and it’s all quite valuable. Wysocki, who’s not too shabby with his forehand himself, reinforced a lot of Sexton’s advice and added a few tidbits of his own.

Here’s what Wysocki had to say:

1. Weight shift – Shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot as you are coming through.
2. Hips – Instead of rotating the hips and introducing new angles to your throw think of your hip movement as a lateral, side to side movement towards your intended line.
3. Practice – Go out and try your shots and learn through trial and error!

As I said before, there is certainly a lot to take in. But as we also said, it’s absolutely worth the time investment to be learning from some of the best in the world.

Comment Below!

I hope those tips from Sexton and Wysocki have helped you improve your disc golf forehand.

They certainly have for me!

Let us know in the comments below if there were any tips that resonated with you.

Were there any that were new to you?

Do you have any tips that you use that wasn’t mentioned in the videos?

Did you prefer this format (watch first, review second)? Or do you like it the other way around?

Anything you still want to know about?

Let us know all this and more!

In the meantime, keep working on your game everyone and reap the rewards on the course!

 

This post on pro tips for disc golf in bad weather, is the fourth post in a series designed to help you elevate your game. Read the tips clearly laid out for you in writing. Then, reinforce them by watching videos created by professional disc golfers. Read, watch, practice, and improve!

Most of us have played in that incredibly difficult weather. 

Maybe the wind is gusting, or it’s too cold to feel your hands? 

Maybe it’s both? 

And while we’re at it, let’s add some cold rain in there as well.

All of these elements can distract you from your game, and seriously disrupt your rhythm out on the course. 

In addition, they can prevent you from going out to practice and work on your game in the offseason.

But there are some things that the pros do to combat some of the elements so they can keep their scores low and keep working on their games in the offseason.  

Knowing these will greatly help you out on the course when the conditions are less than perfect. 

Let’s take a look at some helpful tips for disc golf in bad weather, and start dropping your scores as the temperature drops as well!

Tips For Practicing In Bad Weather!

The first video we have is playful in nature, but has some simple, helpful tips you can use to combat the weather. 

Infinite sponsored pro Erika Stinchomb joins Connor to give us some insight for how she prepares for an upcoming season in the snow and harsher conditions. 

Tip #1 – Dress appropriately and wear layers!

It sounds obvious, but if you are unprepared for the conditions, you are far more likely to be distracted by cold appendages or general discomfort.

This mental energy pulls you away from your game and can negatively impact your scores.

So, she explains, dress appropriately, with layers.

That way you can easily adjust (add or lose layers) as the weather shifts.

Tip #2 – Bring a friend!

Again, as you watch, you’ll see that this one is light-hearted in nature, but helpful as well!

By bringing a friend you have an extra set of eyes to help you track your disc flight and find it if it gets buried in snow.

Tip #3 – Throw standstills in the winter when the footing is shaky!

This tip is dual-purpose. 

The first purpose is safety.

Throwing standstills makes it far less likely that you will slip in tough conditions.

Not only can this hurt you, but it can hurt your game, as your disc can go way off course if you slip as you throw.

The second purpose of this is practice, and it leads nicely into tip number 4…

Tip #4 – Focus on one part of your game at a time!

Erika tells us, “You should never be working on multiple aspects of your game [at the same time] like your grip, and where your arm is, and what your back leg is doing.”

“Pick one, get comfortable. Then pick a new thing.”

In the bad weather, she explains, you can just slow down and focus on one part of your game.

That way you are actually improving in the offseason and you’ll reap the rewards later. 

There’s a fifth tip too, but I’ll let you discover that one for yourself! Enjoy!

More Words of Winter Wisdom!

Next up we have Alex Tews who has the perfect name for his Tuesday (Tewsday) Tips. Alex will be explaining some other tips for you to combat that snowy, cold weather.  

In this video, the first two are similar to Erika Stinchcomb’s tip on dressing appropriately and wearing layers, but with some additional specific ideas about how to go about it.

Tip #1 – Make sure your layers are not too restrictive.

A lot of people equate cold weather with wearing the biggest, bulkiest jackets and apparel they can get their hands on.

In disc golf, however, this can seriously hamper your throwing motion and take you off your game.

Instead, he explains, wear lots of thinner layers as well as hats and neck warmers when necessary.

Tip #2 – Wear Gloves or Mittens!

Here comes an obvious statement: In disc golf we use our hands.

And if our hands get cold the blood pulls away and makes them feel numb.

This is terrible for throwing discs with touch and accuracy.

Instead, wear gloves and then shed the gloves right before each shot. That way your hands stay warm and you can better complete each shot! 

Tip #3 – Bring towels. Lots and lots of towels!

With snow, or rain, the towels will help you keep your disc dry so you can get a better grip for each shot. This relates to the final tip as well…

Tip #4 – Let your discs adjust to the cold weather before playing.

If you bring warm discs out of your house and throw them into the snow, that snow is going to melt all over them and make your discs all the more difficult to clear off.

Instead, let your discs sit outside for a spell (10 minutes or so) before you throw them.

This way they can adjust to the outside temperature and be far easier to brush off when they invariably hit that snow.

Tip #5 – Consider changing up your discs for outings in the snow.

It’s easier than we want to believe to lose our discs in the snow.

So don’t bring your favorite discs that you’ll be devastated to lose.

You might also want to consider using some colors that stand out better in the snow (like green).

All told, this last tip will make for a far less stressful outing in the snow!

Now you can watch and see how Alex explains each of his tips as well.

Now that we’ve got a good plan of attack for playing disc golf in bad weather, let’s look at some putting tips for those conditions, and especially the wind!

Putting in the Wind!

When the wind is gusting, those putts can be pretty daunting. 

But if you have a few strategies in place, and you go out and practice them for yourself, you can feel a lot more confident. 

In the next video a local pro from Maine, Nicole “Pickle” Dionisio, shares the tips she uses in the wind. 

Then, at the end of the video, she hits a bunch from the edge of circle 1 (with the wind clearly moving in the background) to prove to you that she knows what she’s talking about!

Here are some tips she has for us…

Wind Putting Tip #1 – When you prep for your putt, use the grass to gauge wind direction.

This is a classic ball-golfer’s trick.

Pinch some grass from the ground, loft it into the air, and see which way it goes.

This will give you great intel on wind direction as well as wind strength.

Then, you can adjust your putt accordingly.

Tip #2 – In a headwind, get lower to the ground and keep your disc as flat as you can.

This allows you to really push it through the wind without the wind taking your disc for a wild ride!

Tip #3 – In a tailwind, put the nose of your putt up higher than usual.

Pickle likes to leave the putter nose up and let it ride up to a higher spot on the chains.

This counteracts the tailwinds tendency to knock your disc way down. 

Now watch and see for yourself so you can crystalize these important tips!

It will definitely benefit you to try these tips out in the wind so you can gain the confidence for when it matters out on the course.

Now, here’s one final putting tip for you!

A Final Putting Tip for Bad Weather!

Okay, let’s look at one more tip for those days when the weather is less than ideal. 

In this video, Connor shares a tip that has helped him for all his putting, but especially when the weather is tough.

It sounds obvious, but it’s also a good reminder for us all. 

It gives him confidence which translates to lower scores as well…

Connor’s Putting Tip for Bad Weather – Use your legs!

He explains that when his putting is not going well he’s “all arm.”

By pushing off your back leg towards the basket, he explains, not only do you get more distance, but also more confidence. 

This translates to better scores!

Give it a watch and see how Connor uses his humor to give a valuable tip at the same time!

Disc Golf in Bad Weather Review 

There were a lot of tips packed into this post on disc golf in bad weather!

Below, I’ll summarize them and combine some that are similar so it’s not too much coming your way…

Tip #1 – Dress appropriately/wear many, less bulky layers.

Tip #2 – Throw standstills when the footing is shaky.

Tip #3 – (Related to #2) Only work on one part of your game at a time!

Tip #4 – Let your discs adjust to the cold so snow doesn’t melt on them.

Tip #5 – Consider changing your bag and bringing less “valuable” discs for outings in the snow.

Now here’s a review on a few putting tips that will help you in those windy/inclement conditions.

Wind Putting Tip #1 – Use the grass to help you gauge wind speed and direction.

Wind Putting Tip #2 – Keep the disc more nose up for putting in a tailwind.

Wind Putting Tip #3 – Keep the disc flat AND crouch lower when putting into a headwind.

Finally, let’s not forget Connor’s general putting tip that especially helps in bad weather.

Connor’s General Putting Tip – Use your legs and push towards the basket!

Wrapping Up! Comment Below!

There you have it folks!

We hope these pro tips for disc golf in bad weather can add up for you and help you practice effectively in the offseason, as well as drop some strokes from your scores. 

As always, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments if you have any tips you consider when playing in tough weather. 

The offseason is never as long as it feels, and getting out to practice will pay huge dividends when the season starts up again.

And if you are looking for more tips to improve your game, be sure to check out these posts filled with helpful tips on accuracy, grip, and approach shots.

Keep at it and reap the rewards later!